2009-12-27

we are legion

8.31: co.apt/relig/jesus.christ/curing the we are legion ... of pigs:
. I was letting loose with spontanious joking
about jc's encounter with we are legion,
and then afterward thinking about what I said .
. it reminded me that one reason we can't agree
is that we are legion!
. then it occurred to me that this jc story
was a hint, like his other parables:
. curing a madness called we are legion,
and then to have it result in
the loss of a legion of pigs,
reminds us that
to find your strength
asume you are legion:
assume that there are many like you,
not being pigs,
but having a vision of some common good .
[12.21:
. you can't lose the insane guy
without losing a bunch of moral pigs too!
. (bunch of pigs) is a twist of
united under one who is like a pig;
ie, a pig is well fed only to be slaughtered,
the same thing could be said of lamb .
. the literal reason for Christ's slaughter
(death before grandfathering some children)
was that a hypocritical, unjust moral system
prevented him from being fully accepted into his society
due to no fault of his own,
but for merely being the innocent offspring of
a statutory rape (taking of a girl not in marriage) .
]

life lessons

8.20: mom/relig/life lessons:

date Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Begin forwarded message:
> Date: August 11, 2009 1:23:16 PM EDT

> 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
[. the good life is when you can appreciate
even the unfair jungle that life is .]
> 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
[. the key to handling complexity
is finding how to express it as sets and sequences of small steps ]
> 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
[. being mad is a symptom of madness;
it's a clue that there is something illogical
about some of your expectations
or your assumptions about the situation .
. the act of trying to understand how things happen
is a creative process that can divert energy
from destructive vengeance towards intellectual constructs .]
> 4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
[. we are the puppets of society;
societies are puppets of future's angel .]
> 5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
[. a good credit card is like a good drink;
only the hopelessly addicted will abstain from
what is good only within caveats .]
> 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
[. democracy is an illusion foisted upon us
by a society overrun with land lords, a world already owned,
with nothing left to do but find the biggest ape by election
to tell us how we will be packed into the same box .]
> 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
[the easiest way to cry is to be un-alone like this:
look at your feelings like they are a separate person;
and, admit to your "(self) it's your feeling's fault .]
> 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
[. god is the creator of your anger;
anger with god is just laughter .]
> 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
[. make the bible a living document
pointing out how often it pleads to the future
how being prepared and aware can save us from a sorry fate
-- right here on earth! ]
> 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
[. addictions should be given up completely;
good things can be overindulged without harm;
whole-fat cocoa is beauty, sugar is futility .]
> 11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
[. if the past has screwed up the present;
remember that children are the future;
thank god the screw-ups can pass away
leaving only good documentation behind .]
> 12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
[. it's ok for everyone to have children together;
just don't have children as your sole responsibility,
and then let them see you cry .]
> 13. Don't compare your life to others'.
You have no idea what their journey is all about.
[. competition really started as
how you could be better for your society .
. ask your jealousy whether you are not doing your best,
and whether your society is not generally good .]
> 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
[. private parenting is the root of all evil;
perfect childhood programming is the key to justice .]
> 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
But don't worry; God never blinks.
[. console yourself knowing that god is always in control?
when bad things happen to good societies,
it's ensuring that only good things happen to the future .
. security should always have a backup against security failures .
. security should never rely on
perfect intelligence, on the eye that never blinks;
nevertheless, open living is a key to economical security .]
> 16. Life is too short for long pity parties.
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
[. freedom to party is a delusion produced to ensure the failures
that will develop the future that can party without failures ]
> 17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
[. much of the moment's pain comes from fearing future pain;
find comfort in creating ideas that are using today's pain
for really understanding the world to ensure a better future .]
> 18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
[. many have had great insights;
the celebrated few were simply those who bothered to write them down .]
> 19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
But the second one is up to you and no one else.
[. remember society's childhood; we're still in the middle of it .
. the 2nd childhood is the elder's learning to relearn,
without it, there is only midlife crisis .]
> 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life,
don't take no for an answer.
[. remember the drug war is really a war on poverty and overpopulation;
people love powerful people who have real choices -- and glow like it .]
> 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
[. put not your treasures in worldly things,
but in the control you can muster
over your emotions, your environment, and your destiny .
-- mostly psychological and intellectual skills .]
> 22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
[psy/biblical truths/be prepared for the unthinkable:
. when god promised there would never again be a great flood
he was warning us that the next great catastrophe
would catch most of us off-guard;
it would not be something predictable from knowing our history:
. new technology will bring new nightmares .
. meteorites will darken the skies for centuries .
. the sun's death will be survived only by reengineering life for
ultra-distant space travel . ]
> 23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
[. be yourself: eat grass-feed meat, insects, and lots of vegetables .]
> 24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
[. the most important brain is the social collective .]
> 25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
[. imagine god is the director of a soap opera;
why should things be as god would have you expect them:
how would that possibly keep the plot interesting? ]
> 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words:
"In five years, will this matter?"
[. "(in five generations, will this even be remembered?);
writing down your problems will help you work through them,
-- and may help the future develop a better idea of the problem .]
> 27. Always choose life.
[. death, and even suicide, is just choosing a younger, healthier life;
but is it right to quick-fix societal problems by burying the symptoms? ]
> 28. Forgive everyone everything.
[. write your feelings down,
then write everyone's feelings down;
write like you were god:
like writing is the only control you have .]
> 29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
[. the same god that talks about you there,
is the very god that makes your emotions to inspire such murmuring;
imagine god wants everyone to have more control over their environment:
who gets closer to you, who has more children?
who makes us feel better? who makes us talk? ]
> 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
[. psychic wounds ache to be heard;
write them down, and the ache can leave with hope:
even if you destroy the writing,
the message has still been transferred to that part of your brain
that can communicate to others with words -- or telepathy?
with words, surely, we will eventually coordinate .]
> 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
[. remember the key to the bible: Luke 16:20-31:
. when the rich goes to hell,
and the poor sits with the Father;
the Rich begs the Father:
"( if there could be no relief for the Rich fallen into torment
at least raise the poor from the dead
to warn my living brothers of what evil awaits them!
) . the Father reminds him that we have the word of the prophets
-- if only the living Rich could be woken to how tenuous is their luck,
to the urgency of the prophets' message .]
> 32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends will. Stay in touch.
[. start asking way yesterday, and you will receive!
. moreover, start building wealth with urgency,
so it is not too difficult to help those in need when times dive .]
> 33. Believe in miracles.
[. use the force Luke; the supernatural is the very will to live;
imagine the things we can accomplish together,
if only the supernatural will communicate a coordinated plan .]
> 34. God loves you because of who God is,
not because of anything you did or didn't do.
[. god's primary concern is eternal progression of diverse experience;
to say god is love is telling you something about love;
it's just a drug, a motivator; and an experience, part of the product .]
> 35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
[. when you come to see the real you is society,
even the deadly things make you stronger .]
> 36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
[. for those seeking the middle road,
that of attempting a youthful old age;
let the ultimate test of your success
be an increased life-time productivity .]
> 37. Your children get only one childhood.
Make it memorable.
[. when your society owns your children
-- embracing village values rather than family values --
everyone has a better chance at
having a memorable childhood .]
> 38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
[. David of Goliath fame is actually most notable for
writing most of Psalms; he is known as Israel's sweet singer .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalms#Use_of_the_Psalms_in_Jewish_ritual
]
> 39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
[. the sun is waiting for you with highest quality vitamin.d,
and the increasing proximity to hidden life
is changing your chemistry telepathically like a touch;
less miraculously,
the air is likely less to be polluted than what is found indoors .]
> 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile
and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
[. privacy is golden; so are robotic module contacts:
the world's savior is very near .]
> 41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
[. auditing a class means avoiding any gamble of getting a losing a grade;
don't let depression or cowardice be passed off as
frugality or moderation .]
> 42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
[. give your children -- and employees -- the tough-love boot!
also toss angel dust, LSD, ecstasy, and marijuana .
. seriously,
don't let the privacy of your mind allow you to slip into
tolerating thoughts that are unproductive or unfair;
.]
> 43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
[. how did past generations help today be lovely?
how will you help your society help the future ? ]
> 44. Envy is a waste of time.
You already have all you need.
[. envy is sarcasm; the source of your inner {voice, feelings, life}
could have anything it really wanted .. well,
if only you were into population control, collective ownership of land,
and other far-out's: new bone growth requires old bone destruction .]
> 45. The best is yet to come.
[. while youth blossomed into the freedoms of adulthood;
old age will finally tame the inner jungles of your mind .
. optimism is a celebration of yesterday's progress;
hope depends on the belief in progress -- or miracles .]
> 46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
[. in telepathy, proximity matters;
if you're not already declared dead,
showing up will fill you with more life .]
> 47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
[. some of exercise's magic is just moving more breath;
a deep breath is stimulating like a brisk massage;
and helped many stop craving smokes .]
> 48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
[. privacy and cowardice are the leading causes of mass ignorance .]
> 49. Yield.
[. more people die from trusting green lights, modern food,
and other popular expectations, ... than die from old age:

. Whole-grain intake is inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome

Metabolic Syndrome Ups Colorectal Cancer
Metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer's disease
Metabolic Syndrome, Inflammation, and Risk of Cognitive Decline
Metabolic Syndrome Predicts New Onset of Chronic Kidney Disease
Metabolic syndrome and the risk of stroke

CAUSES OF DEATH, USA, 2002

[66% bad modern diet: ]
(1) Diseases of the heart heart attack (mainly) 28.5%
(2) Malignant neoplasms cancer 22.8%
(3) Cerebrovascular disease stroke 6.7%
(6) Diabetes mellitus diabetes 3.0%
(8) Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's senility 2.4%
(9) Nephritis and Nephrosis kidney disease 1.7%
(13) Essential Hypertension high blood pressure 0.8%
[8% bad assumptions(traffic, sex, social skills, ...)]:
(5) Unintentional injuries accidents 4.4%
(11) Intentional self-harm suicide 1.3%
(12) Chronic Liver/Cirrhosis liver disease 1.1% [hepatitis often sexual]
(14) Assault homicide 0.7%

[27% natural, classic causes of death:]
(15) All other [non-infectious causes] 17.4%
(4) Chronic lower respiratory disease emphysema, chronic bronchitis 5.1%
(7) Influenza and pneumonia flu & pneumonia 2.7%
(10) Septicemia systemic infection 1.4%
.]
> 50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
[. even in our sleep, life comes to play!
-- merciful death often doesn't come so easily;
it can be awfully rude to refuse a gift .]


the all-accepting cactus

8.15: co.apt/relig/christian/the all-accepting cactus:
. a tradition of being all-inclusive
came from christ feeling the aloneness of being
born out of wedlock,
and he was reminded of this whenever the jews called themselves
god's chosen -- it wasn't the jews at all,
but those jews who
didn't happen to be prostitutes, tax collectors, mentally ill,
underage ....
. it's nice to know that I can be accepted as born-again;
but, did you see the terms of use for their born-again label?
. there's no intellectual freedom,
any stitch of truth in the bible (being possessed by the spirit world)
is hushed as superstition;
and,
the lists of superstitions at the time (born of a virgin, son of a god),
are hailed as superstitions we must espouse .

church of the unknown superhero

8.13: todo.relig/church of super heroes:
. tell of david, buddha, christ, muhammad, etc
and what they did in the name of classic american values .
. explain need for christian ethic to keep vulnerables out of dirt
without turning off clueless people with "(goofy) superstitions .

8.14: relig/church of the superheroes/unknown superhero:
. the unknown superhero is the one that sacrificed himself
in the pursuit of all the [as yet unmet] needs of social reform:
childrens rights -- reproductive communism,
expansion of muhammad's women's rights .
. expanding safety and freedom -- requires superhuman strength .

616(chi, iota, stigma)

relig/mark of the beast/616(chi, iota, stigma):

8.3: web,proj.relig/revelation`mark of the beast/666 not mentioned? 616 is:


18
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight,
let him calculate the number of the beast,
for it is man's number. His number is 666.

18
Here is [room for] discernment
[a call for the wisdom of interpretation].
Let anyone who has intelligence (penetration and insight enough)
calculate the number of the beast,
for it is a human number [the number of a certain* man];
his number is 666.
*:
1601: the gist of "(certain):
. another way of saying "(a certain man),
is to refer to man in a way that will certainly
reference mankind in general;
ie, what behaviors are an invariant of peoples across all time .



The early Church father Irenaeus knew several occurrences of the 616-variant
but regarded them as a scribal error
and affirmed that the number 666 stood "in all the most approved and ancient copies"
and is attested by "those men who saw John face to face".
[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.vii.xxxi.html]

In May 2005, it was reported that scholars at Oxford University
using advanced imaging techniques had been able to read
previously illegible portions of the earliest known record of the Book of Revelation
(a 1,700 year old papyrus), from the Oxyrhynchus site,
Papyrus 115 or P115, dating one century after Irenaeus.
The fragment gives the Number of the Beast as 616 (chi, iota, stigma),
rather than the majority text 666 (chi, xi, stigma).
[
. Retrieved on 2006-06-23.
]
The other early witness Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C)
has it written in full:
hexakosiai deka hex (lit. six hundred sixteen).
[ Hoskier, Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse, vol. 2, p. 364. ]

Significantly, P115 aligns with Codex Alexandrinus (A)
and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C)
which are generally regarded as providing the best testimony to Revelation.
Thus, P115 has superior testimony to that of P47
which aligns with Codex Sinaiticus
and together form the second-best witness to the Book of Revelation.
This has led some scholars to conclude that
616 is the original number of the beast.
[
# Philip W Comfort and David P Barrett,
The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts,
(Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers Incorporated, 2001)
# ^ CJO - Abstract - A new Oxyrhynchus Papyrus of Revelation: P115 (P. Oxy. 4499)
]

Dr. Paul Lewes in his book, A Key to Christian Origins (1932) wrote:
"The figure 616 is given in one of the two best manuscripts,
C (Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, Paris),
by the Latin version of Tyconius (DCXVI, ed. Souter
in the Journal of Theology, SE, April 1913),
and by an ancient Armenian version (ed. Conybaere, 1907).
Irenaeus knew about it [the 616 reading],
but did not adopt it (Haer. v.30,3),
Jerome adopted it (De Monogramm., ed. Dom G Morin in the Rev. Benedictine, 1903).
It is probably original.
The number 666 has been substituted for 616 either by
analogy with 888, the [Greek] number of Jesus (Deissmann),
or because it is a triangular number,
the sum of the first 36 numbers (1+2+3+4+5+6...+36 = 666)".[20]
[
. Retrieved on 2009-03-01.
The new fragment from the Book of Revelation,
written in ancient Greek and dating from the late third century,
is part of a hoard of previously unintelligible manuscripts
discovered in historic dumps outside Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.
Professor David Parker, Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism
and Paleography at the University of Birmingham,
thinks that 616, although less memorable than 666,
is the original. He said: "This is an example of gematria,
where numbers are based on the numerical values of letters in people's names.
Early Christians would use numbers to hide the identity of people who they were attacking:
616 refers to the Emperor Caligula."
]
Dr. Ellen Aitken said:
"(Scholars have argued for a long time over this,
and it now seems that 616 was the original number of the beast.
It's probably about 100 years before any other version.)
[
]


It seems highly implausible that God would say that the woman in Revelation 17
is Babylon and connect it with the first beast of Revelation 13,
and then give us the number 616 or 606 instead of 666.
Since God modeled the woman after Babylon,
there would be absolutely no reason to use the numbers 606 or 616
and every reason to use the number 666.
The Babylonian mystery religion never used these numbers
and they had no significance to them in any way shape or form.
Thus, these numbers 616 or 606 can only be scribal errors
regardless of whether the document may appear to be earlier.
Some have also said that the numeric value of the name Caesar Nero
works out to 616 if one drops the letter ÒnÓ at the end of the name
to make it Caesar Neron,
(Hebrew names typically added the ÒnÓ to foreign names ending with an ÒoÓ)
because ÒnÓ has a value of 50, so 616 + 50 = 666.
The problem of course is that Nero does not fit the majority of the descriptions
of the beast. For instance, the beast was said to blaspheme the tabernacle of God,
which means it substituted and established its own service
for that which God had provided.
Nero never did that in the temple of God.
He also never changed God's times and laws,
took out three of the kingdoms from the fall of the Roman empire
or persecuted the saints for 1260 years,
and most other criteria is also not met.
Hence, Nero cannot be the beast
and he is not the person who receives that mysterious number 666.



While the Judeo-Christians and the Jews have spent
countless hours and untold billions of dollars
propagandizing our people with the false teachings of when Christ was born.
So have they been doing with who actually killed Him.
This study, in part, is taken from one of Pastor Sheldon Emry's sermons.
I believe that Pastor Emory
was one of the greatest Bible scholars of this century
and perhaps of all time.
The only one would even remotely reach him in scholarship
was Pastor Howard B. Rand.
Their study and teachings far exceed
anything the Judeo-Christian ministers have done over the years.
...
Most Christians will never study enough to come to realize
that the mark of the Beast is the Cross!
See #5516[*]: chi xi stigma, khee xee stig'-ma;
the 22d, 14h and an obsol. letter (4742 as a cross )
of the Greek alphabet (intermediate between the 5th and 6th),
used as numbers;
denoting respectively 600, 60, and 6;
666 as a numeral:
-- six hundred threescore and six..

*:
. according to Strong's Concordance, 666 is making reference to a cross.
Mark - Strong's: #4742 stigma (stig'-mah);
from a primary stizo (to "stick", i.e. prick);
a mark incised or punched (for recognition of ownership),
i.e. (figuratively) scar of service: KJV -- mark.
Thayer's Definition: #4742 stigma
-- a mark pricked in or branded upon the body.
To ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or the stamp
of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut)
into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to,
and there were even some devotee's who stamped themselves in this way
with the token of their gods.
Cross - Strong's: #4716 stauros (stow-ros');
from the base of 2476; a stake or post (as set upright),
i.e. (specifically) a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment);
figuratively, exposure to death, i.e. self-denial;
by implication, the atonement of Christ: KJV -- cross.
#2476 histemi (his'-tay-mee);
a prolonged form of a primary stao (stah'-o)
(of the same meaning, and used for it in certain tenses);
to stand (transitively or intransitively),
used in various applications (literally or figuratively):
KJV -- abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up,
lay, present, set (up), stanch, stand (by, forth, still, up). Compare 5087.


count...
Greek #5585: psephizo, psay-fid'-zo; from Greek 5586;
TO USE PEBBLES IN ENUMERATION, i.e. (gen.) to compute:-count.
Greek #5586: psephos, psay'-fos;
from the same as Greek 5584; A PEBBLE (AS WORN SMOOTH BY HANDLING),
i.e. by impl. of use as a counter or ballot) a verdict (of acquittal)
or ticket (of admission); a vote:-stone, voice.
This "count" means to enumerate stone worn smooth in service
over a long period of time.

Even those familiar with the Strong's Concordance
are likely to have trouble finding six hundred three score and six.
It is called "Stigma" from an obsolete Greek letter
that is not used in modern Greek.

stigma....
Greek #5516: chi xi STIGMA. khee xee stig'-ma;
the twenty- second, fourteenth and an obsol. letter
(Greek 4742 as a cross of the Greek alphabet
(intermediate between the fifth and sixth), used as numbers;
denoting respectively six hundred, sixty and six;
six hundred sidty-six as a numeral:-six hundred threescore and six.
Greek #4742: stigma, stig'-mah;
from a prim. stizo (to "stick," i.e. prick);
a mark incised or punched (for recognition of OWNERSHIP),
i.e. (fig.) scar of SERVICE:-mark.


Strong's Concordance: #5516 chi xi stigma (khee xee stig'-ma);
the 22d, 14th and an obsolete letter (NT:4742 as A CROSS)
of the Greek alphabet (intermediate between the 5th and 6th), used as numbers;
denoting respectively 600, 60 and 6; 666 as a numeral:
KJV - six hundred threescore and six.
(
Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994,
Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.
)

portable notepad

8.31: proj.gear/pn.wallet/plastic insert for writing surface:
. many electronics products are wrapped in this hard plastic
that seems nearly indestructable,
and I found a way to recycle some of it:
. the camping wallet gifted to me is too floppy for writing on,
but works fine when a pocket of it
is stuffed with a sheet of this plastic .

composting toilet with urine separator

8.22: news.gear/mobi/new $900 composting toilet has urine separator but no details:
. it's plastic, no anything .
. how does the hookup work? .